I don’t make New Years resolutions, but I often set goals, or some specific thing I want to focus on throughout the year. It’s usually something that translates through to everything I do. This year, my goal is “Less, But Better”

Less, but better…..food
Less, but better…..stuff
Less, but better…..gardens
Less, but better…..projects (to focus on enjoying the process of creating, not just the finished product)
I want to have a bit more time to sit, relax, and enjoy being.
My focus is also to use up what I have. I want to eat up all the food from the freezers and the pantry. I want to sew the patterns I have and use up fabric from my stash. This will not only save me money this year, it will help clear some of the things out of the house and reduce the amount of stuff we have in many spaces.

What are you goals & intentions for 2019?

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This was the year of quilts for Christmas. I finished this quilt top (also acquired in a thrift store fabric grab bag) for my neighbor. Orange is her favorite color, so I knew she’d love it. The backing was a sheet from my stash, the binding was made from two different scraps of fabric which I got in a different fabric grab bag.
I quilted this one by hand as well, which was an enjoyable evening activity. No doubt this quilt will be loved and put to good use for years to come.

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This past Saturday night we had a gingerbread house making party. It wasn’t anything fancy, there were a few pre-made kits and everyone brought various decorating tidbits. Here’s what we ended up with:
This was mine, complete with holly hedge, M&M box topiary beside the door, tootsie roll flagstone pathway, and giant candy cane decor in the garden.

What holiday fun have you participated in so far this season?

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One of my goals for my handmade holidays this year has been using up fabric in my stash, things I’ve collected over the years, fabric I love, notions I love, yarn I love. So far it’s been a great plan and I’ve managed to get rid of lots of things (more to come after Christmas so as not to spoil the gifts in case the recipients read the blog). One thing I can share that I’ve been doing to use up fabric scraps: making fabric ribbons. I’ve always loved beautifully wrapped gifts. Wrapping gifts is one of the things that I really enjoy doing during the holidays.
I’ve been sewing up all the scraps of fabric I have into long ribbons, most of what I’m using is holiday fabric that I’ve gotten in grab bags from the thrift store. Some of it matched the gift, as is the case with the Russian Nesting Doll fabric (check back after Christmas to see what I made with this lovely thrift store fabric).
These bows are easy enough to make, I fold fabric in half with right sides facing in, then sew along the ends and towards the middle leaving a 3-4 inch opening in the middle for turning. Turn inside out with the help of a pencil or knitting needle, iron, and it’s ready to use. They take only a few minutes each to make and are well worth the effort!
I’m pretty pleased with the results and will be making them for other gifts throughout the year as well. Most of the recipients are the types of people that will save the bows and reuse them, which makes me happy as well. There’s nothing like reducing waste and being able to reuse something you already have.

Are you a meticulous gift wrapper? What sorts of things do you like to use when wrapping?

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With the great room swap of 2018 I ended up with a new desk. (we purchased a new mattress which wouldn’t fit up the stairs, which meant my downstairs office moved up to what was our bedroom and our bedroom went downstairs). The room is finally getting organized and settled, which means I’m finally able to find what I’m needing within a few minutes. Since I spend so much time in this room, I decided to add a Christmas tree to the corner and a little decor on top of the cabinets.
It’s not a perfectly festive room which I’m thoroughly enjoying. I even have a little speaker in there with Christmas jazz on most of the day. This room doubles as my sewing space, so it’s nice that I get to enjoy the decorations all day and in the evenings as well. This is one of those times when having access to thousands of little trees on our property is a benefit. They need cut anyways, so it’s nice to be able to get some enjoyment out of them.
Do you enjoy an artificial or a real Christmas tree?

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About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.